Bruno Mattei

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Bruno Mattei (born July 30, 1931 in Rome , † May 21, 2007 in Lido di Ostia , Rome) was an Italian film director and film editor .

life and work

Mattei began working in film in the 1950s as an assistant editor. In this role he was able to gain a lot of experience and worked in the course of his employment with well-known directors, including Joe D'Amato . According to Mattei, these shaped his directorial work and the intentions of his work. In 1970 Mattei made his first own film, the black and white film Armida, il dramma di una sposa .

In the period that followed, Mattei made smaller films under various pseudonyms. However, he quickly recognized the emerging popularity of women's prison films and linked them with the camp system of the National Socialist concentration camps . This earned Mattei the notorious reputation of being a co-initiator of the Nazi floitation wave and many outraged reviews. In the next few years, Mattei continued to limit himself to erotic productions, including a. part of the "Emanuelle" series and so-called "Sex Mondos" until he made the zombie film Virus (aka The Hell of the Living Dead ) in 1980 . In the wake of the success of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead and the Italian Zombi 2 , he made another contribution to the incoming zombie wave in Italian cinemas of that time. Like his colleague D'Amato, he pursued exclusively financial goals and made no claim to art. In 1980 Mattei made the film Porno Holocaust with D'Amato .

After this further excursion into the horror genre, Mattei withdrew back into erotic productions. Here, in the wind of the success of Tinto Brass ' Caligula , Nero and the whores of the Roman Empire and a direct spin-off to Caligula , Caligula and Messalina . In 1982 Mattei shot two other women's prison films with Laura Gemser . After Mattei made a science fiction film Riffs III in 1984 , his career waned.

It wasn't until 1988 that he made a name for himself again when he completed Zombie III for the sick Lucio Fulci . Mattei put his share in the film at 60%. Mattei then made numerous action films , which were often made with the intention of imitating American role models. One of the films was sold under the title Terminator 2 . With the television production Jaws 5 , Mattei turned another unofficial spin-off of a successful film series in 1995 .

Mattei was unable to build on old successes, however, as softcore productions have meanwhile been supplanted by hardcore films. In contrast to his friend D'Amato, he did not pursue this work and only drew attention to himself in 2003 when he directed the 8mm remake Snuff Killer and released a cannibal film that same year , although this subgenre has been known since the early 1980s was considered dead. Here, too, Mattei caused scandals because - as was customary in the cannibal film of the late 1970s and early 1980s - he had animals killed for the camera.

Mattei passed away on May 21, 2007 after falling into a coma a week earlier.

Pseudonyms

Mattei has worked on films under numerous pseudonyms. The most commonly used are Vincent Dawn and Jordan B. Matthews .

Filmography (selection)

As a director

  • 1970: Armida, il dramma di una sposa - (as Jordan B. Matthews)
  • 1977: Private House of the SS Girls (Casa privata per le SS)
  • 1980: Hell of the Living Dead (Virus) - also screenplay (as Vincent Dawn)
  • 1981: Caligula and Messalina (Caligula e Messalina)
  • 1982: Laura - A woman goes through hell (Violenza in un carcere femminile)
  • 1982: Nero - and the whores of the Roman Empire (Nerone e Poppea)
  • 1983: The seven glorious gladiators (I sette magnifici gladiatori)
  • 1984: Riffs III - The rats of Manhattan (Rats - notti di terrore)
  • 1986: Scalps (Scalps)
  • 1986: The White Apache - The Revenge of the Half-Blood (Bianco Apache)
  • 1987: Cobra Force (Strike Commando) - also screenplay, editor (as Vincent Dawn)
  • 1987: The Battle Giant (Double Target)
  • 1987: Meeting Point Triest (Appuntamento a Trieste) (TV movie)
  • 1988: Born to Win (Born to Fight)
  • 1988: Heroin Force (Trappola diabolica) - also cut (as Vincent Dawn)
  • 1988: Zombie III (Zombi 3) - (uncredited)
  • 1989: Contaminator (Terminator 2)
  • 1989: GI-Killer (Cop Game)
  • 1989: Roboman (Robowar)
  • 1995: The Beast (Cruel Jaws - Fauci crudeli) (as William Snyder)
  • 1996: Body & Soul (Ljuba)
  • 2003: Snuff Trap (Snuff Killer)
  • 2006: Island of the Living Dead (L'isola dei morti viventi) (as Vincent Dawn)
  • 2007: Zombies - The Beginning (Zombi: La creazione)

As an editor

As a screenwriter

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Mattei, Bruno
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cardoso, Michael (pseudonym); Dawn, Norman (pen name); Dawn, Vincent (pseudonym); Graham, David (pen name); Hunt, David (pen name); Hunter, Bob (pseudonym); Klox, Frank (pseudonym); Knox, Werner (pseudonym); Le Blanc, Pierre (pseudonym); Matheus, Jimmy B. (pseudonym); Matheus, Jimmy (pseudonym); Matthews, JB (pen name); Matthews, Jordan B. (pen name); Metheus, J. (pseudonym); Miller, Martin (pseudonym); Montgomery, Erik (pseudonym); Oblowsky, Stefan (pseudonym); Roussel, Gilbert (pseudonym); Smith, George (pen name); Snyder, William (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian film director and film editor
DATE OF BIRTH July 30, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Rome , Italy
DATE OF DEATH May 21, 2007
Place of death Lido di Ostia , Rome